During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, there were various forms of government, including democracy and absolutism. Not only is this an important topic because it deals with the government, but it also deals with the citizens and their perception of the government. However, at this time democracy was a better form of government because the people share the power with the government, the person in power does not have absolute power, and it protects the rights of the people. Through democracy, the government shares the power with its citizens. Absolutism, on the other hand, is where the government comes before everything. According to King Louis XIV, "The head alone has the right to deliberate and decide, and the functions of all the other members consist only in carrying out the commands given to them." King Louis believes his opinion is the only opinion that matters. On the other hand, democracy is better because it considers the opinions of other people. This makes it so that one person in charge is unable to have absolute power. Having too much power was also an issue in some countries in the 17th and 18th centuries. According to Machiavelli, fear and punishment will make the citizens comply with the decisions and ideas of their leader. Democracy is better than absolutism because citizens have the ability to form their own opinions without fear of punishment for disagreeing with their leader. The right to freedom of speech is one of the many rights people value in a democratic government. A democratic government respects the natural rights and freedoms of its citizens. By allowing its citizens to make their own choices, the citizens hold a positive view of the government. A democratic government allows the citizens to have their freedoms and doesn't invade their privacy. By allowing everyone to have a say in the government, it makes the government easy to comply with. That is why it is an obvious assumption that the citizens...

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...rule, some make an attempt to set up a government in which the people ruled themselves. This form of government is called a democracy, or “rule of the people.” History has also revealed through the Greeks and the French Revolution, that a democracy that gives complete power to the people, “absolute democracy”, is nothing more than a short prelude to tyranny.
Democracy is a unique type of government, and the purpose of this essay is to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses that a democratic government provides. I will detail that many components of this type of society are both strengths and weakness as each component has beneficial aspects as well as unavoidable pitfalls.
A democracy is a government by the people, in which the power is vested in the people themselves. The people then elect representatives who conduct their power in a free electoral system. The Declaration of Independence, which says that all men are created equal, was written on the premise of a democracy.
According to John Locke, who wrote The Social Contract, before acknowledging that an individual is part of a specific government format, such as a democracy, one must understand that being an individual in society means you personally agree to partake in a social contract, which is basically an outline for the rules, standards, and conduct of that society. But what makes this a democracy...

...Direct Democracyvs Representative Democracy
The term Democracy is derived from two Greek words, demos, meaning
people, and kratos, meaning rule. These two words form the word democracy which
means rule by the people. Aristotle, and other ancient Greek political
philosophers, used the phrase, `the governors are to be the governed', or as we
have come to know it, `rule and be ruled in turn'.
The two major types of democracy are Representative Democracy and Direct
Democracy. Clearly the arguments for and against each form of democracy are
plentiful. However, it is my belief that theoretically, Direct Democracy is the
superior form of political rule. Due to problems with in the direct democratic
system, its use as a practical form of government is not even thinkable.
Therefore, in order for any form of democracy to function, Representative
Democracy is the superior form of political rule.
Jean Jacques Rousseau is considered by many to be the `Grandfather' of
direct the democracy theory. Rousseau's ideal society would be where the
citizens were directly involved in the creation of the laws which are to govern
their lives. He maintained that, "all citizens should meet together and decide
what is best for the community and enact the appropriate laws. Any law which
was...

...Abstract
The essay to follow will discuss what is meant by liberal democracy. The term will be defined and further discussed. In addition, it will be contrasted with that of a socialist democracy. This democratic system will be defined in political terms with reference to valid examples as too will liberal democracy.
The following essay is based on a contrast between liberal and socialist democracy from a political perspective. An analysis of the terms, concepts and the question will then follow. In addition, reference will be made to current examples such as that of the USA, Great Britain, and Chile as evidence for each type of democracy that is being examined. Furthermore, key issues that will be discussed in this paper consist of democracy as a whole, negative and positive freedom within a liberal democracy, and the failure of socialism in the third world. Furthermore this essay will prove that Sweden is not a socialist democracy.
In order to contrast liberal and socialist democracy one must first hold an understanding of what each term means. In order to go about understanding these terms, it is important to first understand what democracy. In simple terms, democracy can be defined as the rule of the people. A democracy is about the people who come together to decide on laws. And according to...

...A democracy is when the common people are considered as the primary source of political power. Although democracy and absolutism had advantages and disadvantages, democracy was a more effective type of government for it limited royal power and protected the rights of the people socially, politically, and economically. Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, tension arose between the two different types of governments, thedemocracy and absolute monarchs.
The enlightenment was a great period of establishment of democracy. Throughout the enlightenment there were philosophes who believed greatly in a democratic government. Some of the most familiar philosophes were Voltaire, John Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. Each one of these philosophes were humanists and believed in natural rights. John Locke quotes an example of natural rights in document 5. Locke states in this document that all men are born with the natural rights of life liberty, and property, the government is to protect these rights, and if the government chooses not to protect these rights, the people have the power to overthrow the government. Freedom of speech and religion were crucial beliefs in the mind of Voltaire. In doc. 4, he is quoted "I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." This quote evidently states Voltaire's strong faith in freedom of speech. Freedom of speech had a...

...Democracy and Plato’s Republic
We are in a time when people are questioning the workings of our government is the electoral process of choosing a president an accurate depiction of the public’s needs or wants. Does the government have the best interest of the people at heart or the best interest of the parties? In an economy besieged by recession is the structure of our government viable? These issues have been discussed in the past and different groups have come to different ideas on economic and political structures and how they should be decided. In our country and many other nations around the world, the observation has often been that democracy accompanied by capitalism presents the best, most competent use of resources, and that governments led by those ideals promise the best outcome for the people. Other countries have adopted very diverse governing principles. The Communist ideals adopted by some nations support the establishment of an unobstructed, stateless, classless social order based on common ownership as a means of property and production.
I believe that although the population votes to bring about change, ultimately the decisions of the people are diminished by a higher power. It is not until the people are given control of the outcome will there be a change. I believe Plato's philosophy of life and theory of knowledge is the basis for the democracy of today. It is in Plato’s ideals that there is...

...Dictatorship and democracy are two concepts with numerous views and differences. The first is not ideal for a society which seeks free press, human rights and equality. The second is, even though many facets have to be taken into account. Throughout history, scholars have laid out a range of arguments regarding the advantages and disadvantages of both systems in terms of development. Here, we will try to enumerate some of them.
An authoritarian government is a form of government in which the power is centralized (single person or a group). Dictatorship have ruled in many countries and region of the world for years; Latin America, Africa, Caribbean and Asia (especially the Middle East). In all cases, it was not all evil, where genocide, assassination or corruption were common like with Saddam Hussein. Scholars agreed that some countries have seen a boost in socioeconomic development under authoritarian governments. It was the case for Dominican Republic under Trujillo, Argentina in the 60's, Chile in the 70's under Pinochet, Singapore or Turkey. For these leaders, their countries were not ready for democracy because “ dictatorial governments could better impose rational, long-term development plans” (Handelman, 2011, 35). The father of Singapore’s authoritarian political system, Lee Kuan Yew, declared that discipline is more essential for a developed country than democracy.
Lee also stated that “Democracy...

...Communism VsDemocracyDemocracy and communism are the two main governing systems ever to be set into motion. Effects of both of these systems can be observed in many countries worldwide. Democracy is the political orientation of those who favor government by the people or by their elected representatives, whereas communism is a form of socialism that abolishes private ownership which means that all means of production such as land and natural resources are owned by the entire community. Of course, more modern forms of these two governances are adopted by the countries that prefer to do so. Although democracy and communism are two opposite governing systems, a certain amount of similarities can still be found.
In fact, even if the similarities between democracy and communism are not very obvious, they do exist. A first important similarity is that they both have no connections between the religion and government. Meaning that they are both secular and in other words called “laic”. There is no single country that is run by communist or democratic regime that is not laic.
Another similarity would be that mostly in both these regimes, the public elects the leaders but there are some exceptions in real life. They both hold elections.
A third similarity between communist system and democratic system would be the that they both provide good public services for the community such as public...

...Imagine the next time you step into the voting booth your ballot only lists one candidate to choose from. Or perhaps your ballot lists four candidates, but they are all from the Liberal party. Dictatorships are one party political systems that are ruled by one leader or an elite group of people under the principle of authoritarianism. Some feel that dictatorships are the most effective form of government because decisions are made quickly and extreme nationalism benefits the military and economy. These individuals value order, nationalism, and authority. However, these systems often result in violence, repression of the public, and few provisions for changes to the system. Democracies are multiparty political systems that rest on the principle of rule by the people. Most people that live in democracies have civil liberties1, and political rights2. Individuals who feel that multiparty systems are the best government value equality, accountability, and freedom. Nations that have multiparty political systems will meet the needs of the public better through the means of political equality, a higher standard of living3, and civil liberties.
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<br>Dictatorships often occur when a nation is economically and politically unstable. An example of this is Napoleon's coup d' etat in 1799 France. In a system of authoritarian rule decisions are made efficiently because very few people are involved in the decision making process. The leader or elite group...